Most Android smartphones still come with a memory card slot: this is the easiest way to increase the memory capacity of your smartphone. Cloud storage has long been available - a more flexible way to store your data and not worry about something happening to it. The same cannot be said about memory cards: they often break or the smartphone simply stops seeing it. If nothing can be done about their fragility, then the problem of a card that a smartphone cannot see is quite possible to solve. So, if your MicroSD is not displayed in the phone , do not rush to go to the store for a new one - try to fix the error yourself.
What to do if the memory card is not displayed in the phone?
Why is the memory card not showing up?
The situation where the smartphone does not see the memory card happens quite often and occurs for a variety of reasons. This could be a malfunction of the software, smartphone, moisture, or a fall of the device from a great height, resulting in damage. The drive itself may have failed. Of course, you can immediately go for a new flash drive, but it’s better to try something.
Why may the memory card not be displayed in the smartphone?
- Restart your smartphone . It's best to turn it off for a couple of minutes and then turn it on. This is the easiest way to get rid of Android internal crash.
- Remove the memory card from your smartphone and insert it back. Perhaps the contacts do not fit well together.
- Reset your smartphone to factory settings.
- Try inserting your MicroSD into another device . If it doesn’t detect the card, then that’s the problem.
MicroSD failure
Another fairly common reason for the unpleasant “blindness” of a mobile phone is the complete failure of a removable flash card.
How to check?
In this case, the memory card cannot be detected by any device - neither a mobile phone, nor a laptop, nor a PC.
What is the reason?
There are quite a few reasons. It could be:
- frequent reinstallation of the card in violation of safety regulations - without first stopping the operating mode;
- overheating of the device can also be the reason why the phone does not see the memory card ;
- mechanical damage;
- contacts oxidized due to moisture.
If the SD card is truly damaged, then it is almost impossible to restore its correct operation. You just have to replace the storage medium with a new one.
How to choose a memory card
Some sizes and formats of memory cards do not work correctly in smartphones
We want MicroSD to be inexpensive and hold as much data as possible. Unfortunately, this rarely coincides with the real state of affairs. Many manufacturers set a limit on the usable capacity of external drives, which causes malfunctions.
For example, when you install a 512 GB card into a smartphone that only supports 256 GB. Also, inexpensive Android smartphones have a limit on MicroSD capacity , for example, 64 GB and below. This information can be checked on the manufacturer's website.
Before purchasing, be sure to check what memory card format your smartphone has: microSD, SDHC or SDXC. They differ in recording speed and, accordingly, durability. Not all smartphones work correctly with different formats.
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Incompatibility of the flash card with the device
Manufacturers write recommendations for a reason. One of the most common reasons why the phone does not open the memory card is their incompatibility. The wrong choice of flash drive prevents the device from working normally with it. For example, some Samsung phone models support cards with a memory capacity of no more than 64 GB. It is not surprising that large volumes are simply not available to them. That is why you should carefully read the user instructions and select them correctly when purchasing removable media.
How to format a memory card on your phone
Sometimes formatting the memory card helps. This will erase all data, but will return the necessary file system configurations. This can be done using a PC or smartphone. How to do this from a computer?
Format your memory card directly on your PC. This method usually works better than others.
- Insert MicroSD into the card reader and install in PC
- After detection, right-click on the drive name and select “Format”.
- In the window that appears, click “Start”.
- After formatting is completed, insert the card into the smartphone.
Formatting can be done using the built-in Android tools in two ways. Here's how to do it right on your smartphone.
The easiest way to format MicroSD. But it doesn’t always work either
- Go to Settings, select "Memory".
- Click Format SD (“Clear SD”).
If you were unable to format the memory card on your smartphone using this method, then try doing it using Recovery Menu .
You can format MicroSD through the Recovery Menu
- Turn off your phone and hold down the Power and Volume Up button.
- Using the volume buttons, select the line “wipe cache partition”
- Press the power button to select the item.
Now the reset will occur after a reboot.
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Incorrect format or corrupted file system
This problem occurs most often. If the file system format does not suit the phone or the memory sectors are damaged, then the device simply cannot work with such a card.
How can I be sure?
When connected to a PC, such flash cards give an error, ask for formatting, or are not readable at all. There may be several reasons - the operating system does not see the markup or files of this format, or the formatting was incorrect. Manufacturers produce flash drives that work with exFAT files, and not all mobile phones accept this system.
What to do?
Format the flash drive. The operation can be performed in FAT32 using Recovery mode. This method is not very convenient - it is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and requires searching in the menu. The most accessible way is formatting via a computer using the SD Formatter program. If your PC or laptop does not have a card compartment, you can purchase a special adapter.
The program is extremely simple to manage - you just need to select the name of the flash card from the list of hard drives and click on the “Format” item. Before starting the program, you need to select a file system suitable for this device, which will then be used on the mobile phone.
When formatting is completed, all that remains is to take out the card and insert it into the mobile phone.
You can also use the standard Windows program. The difference from the above option for formatting a flash drive is small. To start the process, you need to connect the card to the PC via an adapter or a standard cable, but then the entire phone with the memory card inserted is connected. The formatting procedure is carried out in the following way:
- Select the card name from the list of hard drives and right-click;
- From the menu that appears, select “Format” and click on it.
Another method can be used only as a last resort, when other options have failed. The Android system has an additional formatting function. To find it, you need to enter the control menu and click on the “Format CD” item. This method is applicable only when the device sees the card, but cannot open it for some reason.
In most cases, formatting quickly and without additional costs solves the problem with the memory card. If the operation performed does not lead to a positive result, it is necessary to continue searching for the problem.
Part 1: Memory Card Error
As mentioned earlier, when something goes wrong on your memory card, a memory card error message, error code, or black screen will appear on your camera or Windows screen. But what causes such an error? There are several common ones:
1. The memory card was removed unexpectedly.
2. The files on the memory card are damaged.
3. The memory card is not supported by the file system.
4. The virus attacks.
5. The memory card is broken.
Program crash
If obvious reasons are not identified, then perhaps the problem is in the programs installed on the mobile phone. To reboot and configure it, you must perform the following procedures:
- reset your phone to factory settings;
- go to the “Storage” section and select “Save files on removable media”.
If you cannot get rid of the software error using the usual correction methods or resetting the settings to factory settings, you may need to flash the mobile phone software. If you do not have experience in this matter, then it is better to contact specialists who provide this service. There, the interface will be replaced with a more friendly one, and critical system errors will be corrected.
The reasons why memory cards cannot be read by a smartphone can be identified and corrected yourself. You need to make sure that the card itself is in good working order, as they are quite fragile and quickly fail. You should carefully read the instructions and purchase exactly those cards that are suitable for a specific phone. For the device to work without failures, you need modern, reliable cards with high data processing speed.
Part 3: Frequently Asked Questions about SD Card Stopping Working
The Micro SD card in my phone has stopped working, how can I fix it?
1. Update your SD card driver. 2. Remove the SD card from your phone and then insert it again. 3. Clean the SD card with cotton cloth.
How to repair a Micro SD card that is not detected on the computer?
Insert the undetected or unrecognized micro SD card into the card reader and connect it to your Windows computer. On your PC, click START MINING, write CMD in the search bar and press ENTER to open the command prompt window. Type the command: chkdsk H: /f and press ENTER. H is the letter name of your micro SD memory card.
How to recover photos from a damaged SD card?
To recover photos from a damaged SD card, you must get SD card data recovery software. Both programs listed in part 2 can help you recover lost photos from SD card. Get detailed instructions for recovering photos from an SD card.
Reboot your smartphone
One of the first steps is traditionally to reboot the device, because if a software failure occurs, rebooting will help fix it in most cases.
Press the power button and hold it for about 1-2 seconds.
A small menu appears on the screen in which you need to select “Reboot”.
Then just wait until the system reboots and check the functionality of the memory card.
Solution for Android versions 4.0 - 6.0
The sequence for solving this issue is different for certain operating systems. So today, a large number of mid-segment smartphones run on Android from version 4, as well as Android 5.1 and 6.0.
Android 4.0, 4.1 and 4.2 allow you to configure saving files to an SD card without having superuser rights. You just need to go to “Settings”, enter the “Memory” submenu and specify there the installed memory card as the default resource for saving data.
From now on, the new application from the Play Market will be saved there. True, old applications will have to be moved manually, and if that doesn’t work, install them again.
To carry out the task, go to “Applications”, select the one you need and indicate the path each time - “Transfer to SD”. But not all applications, especially system ones, will “listen” to you, because to transfer data to Android from 4.4 and higher you will need to obtain Root rights.
Obtaining superuser rights occurs through special utilities.
The most famous of them are Framaroot and Kingo Android Root. But with full access to your files, you suffer some costs when obtaining Root rights: you lose your rights to warranty service for the device, updates do not come by themselves over the air, and unknowingly you can damage the system by accidentally deleting important files.
Wrong folder in browser
If problems with saving occur while downloading files in the browser, you should check the destination folder. It may be specified incorrectly, which is why the browser does not understand how to save photos, music, videos and other content. Let's look at the example of UC Browser:
- Open the "Downloads" section in the main menu.
- Click Settings.
- In the "Download Path" field, specify the folder on the memory card.
Increase
After such a short setup, files in the browser will be downloaded only to the specified directory on the card, without filling up the internal memory.
No contact in phone slot
This breakdown is usually of a mechanical nature and is visible to the naked eye even at the stage of installing the card. There are several ways to damage contacts:
- insert the card incorrectly;
- press too hard on the contacts;
- leave the smartphone undried after contact with moisture or exposure to moisture-saturated air. After such a bath, the contacts may noticeably oxidize;
- Dirt may accumulate on the contacts.
In the last two cases, you can try to solve the problem by cleaning the contacts with a soft cloth soaked in pure alcohol. If the actions are not successful, you will have to take the device in for repair, where the contacts will be professionally cleaned and, if necessary, replaced.
